How to Get Rid of Carpenter Ants

If you suspect ant nests in your house, you have to react fast and efficient to find out how to detect and how to get rid of carpenter ants as soon as possible, since this kind of ants is known to be one of the most difficult insects to remove from the dwelling.

These pests tunnel through house walls and can be very destructive. Carpenter ants invasion is a very frequent problem which strikes fear into house owners hearts.

Fortunately, there exist trusted ants removing methods which can give you peace of mind. In this article we are going to dwell upon the best methods of fighting with annoying insects.

Discovering Carpenter Ants in Your House

These ants are usually large dark colored insects which sometimes may have a pair of wings and bent antennas. Their red or black bodies can reach from 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch in length.

There is a popular misconception that these pests eat wood. But they actually do not, insects simply bore into wood to create hive there. This makes them as aggressive and dangerous bugs as termites are.

Getting Rid Of Carpenter Ants

Before you panic and start randomly spraying pesticides all over the house, make sure you have the ants problem. Look for ‘frass’ signs. Ants often leave sawdust like trails on carpets and doorways – these can lead you directly to the nest.

Do not start any removal until the nest and its colonies have been detected.
Random actions can only scatter the nests and make the problem worse.

If you cannot visually detect any signs of tiny wooden particles, try to bait pests with sweet attractants. A lot of householders scratch their head over how to get rid of ants question without having nests at their dwelling at all.

Once the nest and the colonies are spotted, you can go down to fight. There is always a choice between natural homemade remedies and ready pesticides. It’s up to homeowner to decide which method will work better in his/her particular case. However, we recommend to start with natural ways of insects eliminating, since these are safer for your health.

Thus, here are trusted advice on how to how to get rid of carpenter ants:

Boric Acid. To make a pests killing mixture you will need 1 tbsp of boric acid (it is commonly sold as borax), 1 tsp of sugar, peanut butter or honey and 4 ounces of water. Mix these ingredients and spread the solution in areas where the bugs were spotted. The sweet ingredient will attract, while the borax will poison ants.

Vinegar. Vinegar repellents are also an effective way to fight with annoying bugs. It is very acidic and ants usually try to avoid it. Mix water and vinegar in 50-50 ratio and then add 1 tbsp of eucalyptus or peppermint oil (you can also add cinnamon, garlic powder or pepper to make the solution more effective). Spray the prepared mixtures onto the ants trails.

34 Comments

Hey – I tried the boric acid thing. Seemed to work at first. They were all eating it and there were even tons of dead carpenter ants around it, but then they stopped going to it and now they’re still here. I read the same tip about getting rid of carpenter ants on a different site and that offered no help either

Darrel,
Do you know if there is any leaking water in your home? We had a major carpenter ant problem and when we renovated the bathroom, we discovered this was the source of the problem. Everyone told me if I have carpenter ants throughout the winter then I know for sure I have a problem. We had the ants all year and they were everywhere! In our beds, in our food, etc, etc.
Since the bathroom has been renovated and we replaced all the underlying wood with pressurized wood, and hardibacker boards under the tiles, we haven’t had problems with the ants. Water was seeping under the tiles and that’s what they were using to support themselves. The old wood wasn’t pressurized and it was amazing the shapes that were made in the wood beams. Perfectly smooth cuttings and holes. Those ants had a ball!

You are using to much boric acid. If the ants are dieing before they get it back to the colony, it is of no use. Tone down the mixture so the worker ants can take it to the colony, and get it to the queen. As long as the queen lives, the colony lives.

hello,
i would like to try the boric acid mixture as it is Spring and we always get carpenter ants in the kitchen and I always call Pest Control and we *always* leave while they spray etc. etc.
we have an aging labrador who makes vacating the home a bit difficult plus if I can get rid of them on my home in a natural way I am all for it.
I know that they come from the basement but honestly I have not seen a “nest” nor do I want to go searching for it (grosses me out to a degree)
At the moment I have only spotted a few as it is early in the season but i did see one come up from the woodwork at the base of the fridge so would I put the mixture there?
thanks for your help in advance

I have a rotten tree that fell in my back yard. The wood was cut up so it could be moved. friends went to try to get the wood out of my yard n noticed that it was covered in ants n terminates. how do we kill them off so the wood can be moved out of the yard. something affordable please.

We find those creatures in our kitchen and in the living room. Also, I do not know what to do. I opened ceiling already in the basement under approximate location of the sink and kitchen cabinets to see if there is some wood dust. Didn’t see anything yet. These creatures started to show up up to 10-15 creatures per day (those we see). Checked accessible point in the house. Didn’t see any damage yet…

I will try some of those recommended remedies. I’ll do one at a time to see/find one most effective and will keep updating this ‘billboard’ for you everybody to use.
P.S. Used Lowe’s/Home Depot ant traps. Seems to me they do not work. Waste of money…

Okay so…I’ve gotten rid of them three times these past three years I’ve lived in this apt. But around the same time of the year, they keep coming back. I’ve looked everywhere online, and even made my own “Ant Away” only works so much. It’s made up of freshly squeezed lemon juice, white vinegar, pepper, peppermint oil. & thinking to add soap to it… there everywhere in my bedroom. Never anywhere else. Even in my bed. I feel like their all over me. I had my maintenance to chalk up the hole their coming from, but there still coming through the hole under the carpet. How can I get them out of my bed and house forever?

It seems like the ants are only in my bedroom. Here it is winter and here they are. I tryed the boric stuff.doesn’t work. It is 4 ft of snow outside. My bedroom is off the patio i guess they are coming from trees ok but what do i do can’t afford cutting trees

Hi I tried the peanut butter with Borax, not sure I got the mixture right. Dont know how much peanut butter to add to the mixture. Anyway they don’t touch it. I have put a piece of mango, a piece of strawberry, and a piece of meat. To see what they would eat. It’s like they are like they are not feeding? I don’t understand? I live in Alaska, not sure what to do?
next step is to call an exterminator. Any suggestions? Thanks David

it seems everytime I go into our master bathroom at least one to three aunts how do I get rid of these I can’t find where they’re coming from I just see them I kill them and I leave when I come back most the time I’m killing one or two more

I use borax with grape jelly and water. They seem to love it, but I hate how long it takes to kill the colony. They are in the wall behind my cabinets and unless I take the siding off, it is not going to be easy getting to the nest itself. I have also found carpenter ants in my compost bin this year as well!

I use old Greek yogurt containers and fill them up half way with Borax, then add about 1/4 cup jelly and then add enough water to make it like the consistency of Elmer’s glue. Mix and leave it in their path. I spray the area around them with vinegar to destroy their other scent trails, making sure not to get too close to the bait. Good Luck!

a. not borax — use boric acid. You get it at the drug store. If you buy an ant-treatment powder at the hardware store, it probably uses boric acid.

b. Do not use a lot of boric acid. I use about a half-teaspoon to a half-cup of sugar. I mix them in a plastic cup, like a yogurt container, and add enough water to make a soupy paste. Then I add a couple of cotton balls and throughly soak them in the goop.

c. I take a couple of plastic deli cups, like from chicken salad, and cut a few small holes in the sides, about a half-inch up (so the goop doesn’t leak). I drop the cotton balls into the deli cup and put the top on.

d. Then I place the deli cups in a few strategic places near the ant problem. It takes a little patience, and you do not want to instantly kill the ants. Once they discover the sugar, they’ll come back to it and get into it again. Then when they go back to the nest, other ants will help clean them off, and that’s when you start to wipe out the whole nest. It will take a few days, but it does work.

e. Every year in late spring, I make up a few of these and put them around, like on the sills in the basement, maybe under a heavy cabinet or bureau, and just leave them there. Make sure that kids or pets do not get into this stuff.

I’m not sure if this will help anyone but when I first bought my house the first night we had tons of carpenter ants and I figured I was stuck with them because I had a dog, 2 cats and a child in my house and didn’t want to use unsafe chemicals around them but I went to the store and got ecosmart organic insecticide it’s non-toxic and it worked 100% after I sprayed I seen no more but I still sprayed where the nest was for 2 days after it really surprised me I didn’t expect it to work that well and it’s not expensive

Last Spring I found several carpernter ants in my kitchen and bathroom, but one or two here and there in other places as well. A friend told me to get 2 gallons of ammonia and sprinkle it around the foundation of the house once per month (but I only did it twice this summer). Her mother always did it. It really seemed to work. Also, I bought finely ground, fresh black pepper and sprinkled it behind my cabinets and around the door openings. Between the two, no ants. I hate toxic insecticides!

My husband and I are remodeling a mobile home which was given to us and found when we tore the floor up in the living room and took the skirting off the outside that there is carpenter ants all through out the underneath of the trailer and only the extension part of the home if the hole house is infested what’s the best way to get rid of them . Cause there everywhere now.?

can someone help me today 1-21-15 I was bitten by a long black close to an inch ant which ive known them all my life as pamorana ant here in south texas. the pain from this suckers is horrible almost everyone in my house has been bitten and its very frustrating and no one has mention this I want to know what on earth this ants are called? are this wood ants? or are they a different type of ant we are talking here! this suckers are hard to kill I hate them, and how do I get rid of them cuz they are inside my mobile home.
thanks
ana